What is the Russia report? 8 key takeaways on the Kremlin's interference in UK politics

The bombshell report finds that Russian interference in Britain is the "new normal"

Russia poses a "significant" and "immediate threat" to the UK and the Government has "actively avoided" addressing it in the past, a report has warned.

The long-awaited Russia report from the Intelligence and Security Committee scolds Moscow for establishing a "new normal" where it interferes in Britain on multiple fronts.

The landmark report, from a cross-party group of MPs, had been delayed by Downing Street for nine months - and much of its "highly sensitive" detail is redacted for fear of reprisal.

Tweeting following its release, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab demanded that "Russia must desist from its attacks on the UK and our allies".

Here, we take a look at the eight key points you need to know from the report.

The report is highly critical of Downing Street 
REUTERS

1. Downing Street too slow to act

The report warned of the risk of “complacency” over protecting Britain’s democracy, emphasising that this appeared something of a “hot potato”, with no one organisation taking a lead.

It said Britain “belatedly realised” and “badly underestimated” the “level of threat” posed by Russia after the “hack and leak” of thousands of emails during the US presidential election in 2016.

The ISC concluded: “It has been clear for some time that Russia under Putin has moved from potential partner to established threat, fundamentally unwilling to adhere to international law — the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014 were stark indicators of this.

“We therefore question whether the Government took its eye off the ball because of its focus on counter-terrorism.

“It was the opinion of the Committee that until recently the Government had badly underestimated the response required to the Russian threat — and is still playing catch up.”

2. UK 'actively avoided' assessing Kremlin threat

MP Stewart Hosie, an ISC member, told a news conference to unveil the report ministers “actively avoided looking for evidence” that the Kremlin sought to meddle in the Brexit referendum and “did not want to know”.

The committee said that when it asked MI5 for any information it received a response that was just six lines long.

The Russian embassy in London
Getty Images

“We were told that they hadn't seen any evidence, but that is meaningless if they hadn't looked for it,” Mr Hosie said.

Asked for the committee’s views on whether Russia did influence the 2016 referendum, ISC member Kevan Jones said: “There was no evidence that we saw. The reason why there was no evidence was because no one asked the work to be done.”

3. Call for Brexit referendum probe

The committee went on to demand an inquiry into Russian interference in the EU referendum,

Mr Hosie told reporters: "There has been no assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum and this goes back to nobody wanting to touch the issue with a 10-foot pole.

"This is in stark contrast to the US response to reported interference in the 2016 presidential election.

"There should have been an assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum and there must now be one, and the public must be told the results of that assessment."

4. Interference in Scottish referendum

The report said intelligence agencies and the minister should have been aware of the risk of Russian interference in the Scottish referendum.

This was because there was "credible open source commentary suggesting that Russia undertook influence campaigns" in 2014.

Describing the Kremlin’s role in the vote that could have split the UK, it said the act was the “the first post-Soviet interference in a Western democratic election”, according to the Telegraph.

Russia allegedly interfered in Scotland's 2014 independence referendum 
Getty Images

The ISC’s alleged findings of interference in British democracy come after the UK, US and Canada claimed that Russian intelligence-linked hackers tried to steal details of research into coronavirus vaccines.

Russia’s ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin dismissed the accusations in a BBC interview.

He insisted his country had no interest in interfering in British domestic politics. “We do not interfere at all,” he said.

5. 'Illogical' approach from MI5

The watchdog also questioned whether the security services knew how many Russians in Britain were “at risk”.

It accused MI5 of operating with “extreme caution” and called its approach “illogical”, adding the agency should take responsibility for the protection of democratic processes from “hostile state interference”.

The report, drawn up nearly 18 months ago, said that Russia “poses a tough intelligence challenge” and that MI6, MI5 and GCHQ “must have the tools they need to tackle it”.

Getty Images

6. Urgent action needed

The committee called for "immediate action" over the “immediate threat” that the Kremlin posed.

The watchdog urged other nations to “step up with the UK and attach a cost to Putin’s actions”. It added: “Salisbury [the Novichok poisonings] must not be allowed to become the high water mark in international unity over the Russia threat”.

7. Russian interference in UK 'new normal'

The report warned Russian influence in the UK is the “new normal”.

It said: “Successive Governments have welcomed the oligarchs and their money with open arms, providing them with a means of recycling illicit finance through the London ‘laundromat’”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was accused of presiding over an 'immediate threat' to Britain 
AP

This has led to a growth industry of “enablers” including lawyers, accountants, and estate agents who are, wittingly or unwittingly, “de facto agents of the Russian state”.

It added: “While the mechanics of our paper-based voting system are largely sound, we cannot be complacent about a hostile state taking deliberate action with the aim of influencing our democratic processes.”

The ISC noted that “a number of members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies” and these relationships should be “carefully scrutinised” given the potential for Moscow to exploit them.

The report also called the Official Secrets Act "out of date", urging the government to pass new laws to curb espionage and "illicit financial dealings" by some of the "Russian elite".

8. Disinformation

The committee also warned that the cyber threat from Russia and that the UK is clearly a target for Russian disinformation.

It said social media companies must take action and remove covert hostile state material and the Government must “name and shame” those who fail to act.

“Russia is a highly capable cyber actor, employing organised crime groups to supplement its cyber skills. Russia carries out malicious cyber activity in order to assert itself aggressively,” the report says.

How has the UK Government responded?

The Government denied the suggestion it had “badly underestimated” the Russian threat and dismissed the calls for a Brexit referendum inquiry.

“The Government has long recognised there is an enduring and significant threat posed by Russia to the UK and its allies, including conventional military capabilities, disinformation, illicit finance, influence operations, and cyber-attacks,” the official response to the report said.

“As such, Russia remains a top national security priority for the Government."

A statement from the Government added: “The Committee notes that Russia presents a serious threat to the United Kingdom. As NATO leaders agreed at their meeting in London on 3-4 December 2019, Russia’s aggressive actions also constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security. The Government has made clear to the Kremlin that an improvement in relations is only possible if Russia desists from its attacks on the UK and its allies.

“Meanwhile we will be resolute in defending our country, our democracy, and our values from such Hostile State Activity. We do this through a cross-Government Russia Strategy and structures that combine the UK’s diplomatic, intelligence, and military capabilities, its hard and soft power, to maximum effect. We act in concert with our allies, seeking to lead the West’s collective response to hybrid threats to our societies and values.

“We are grateful to the Committee for their commendation of the hard work of the community of Government officials and others who are engaged in this effort, including in mounting the UK’s response to the Salisbury attack in 2018, and for its recommendations on how to sustain it going forward.”

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